Exterior design

The first model to showcase designer Marc Lichte's new progressive design language, the A8 is an understated contrast to the more glamorous styling of its chief rival, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. A long dash-to-axle ratio, traditional sedan proportions with upright, clearly defined A, B and C-pillars and a clean side profile with subtle character lines help develop an elegant look.

This is accentuated by the design of the tail. Full width tail lamps, as previously seen in models as disparate as the Saab 9-5, Lincoln Continental, Dodge Charger and Bugatti Chiron, are used by automakers to emphasise the width of the vehicle. Audi uses this particular design element to the same effect with the new A8. The full-width light bar is complemented by the chrome strip below to create a low and wide stance.

The design of the hexagonal front grille likewise mirrors the 'low and wide' stance developed by the tail.

Left: 2014 Audi A8. Right: 2018 Audi A8.

Unlike the vertical, waterfall grille design of its predecessor, the new A8 incorporates a wider, more obviously hexagonal grille that widens the look of the car in a fashion similar to the full width tail lamp.

Of particular note is the design of the side sills and bumpers of the A8. As seen in the photos above, a wraparound chrome strip runs around the car, and also helps to seamlessly integrate the tailpipes into the rear bumper. Overall, this wraparound design demonstrates Audi's attention to detail with regard to the exterior design and adds a further touch of class to the vehicle.

Interior design

The A8's interior continues to develop themes from the exterior design. The wood trim at the top of the dashboard encircles the interior in a similar fashion to the wraparound exterior chrome strip described above. The elegant concealment of the A8's air vents likewise echoes the seamless integration of the exterior tail pipes into the rear bumper, and imbues the interior with a sophisticated, graceful feel.

With the infotainment systems integrated into a clearly demarcated horizontal dashboard and vertical centre console, the interior architecture of the A8 also follows the preferred 'T' interior design, and follows the mould of other recently launched vehicles such as the Range Rover Velar in minimising physical buttons in favour of configurable software controls.

Technology

The A8 builds upon Audi's industry leading automotive lighting technology. Whilst the 'HD Matrix LED' headlights apparently refer to the increased number of diodes compared to the previous generation, the A8 is arguably the first mass-produced vehicle with OLED tail-lamps, with the technology only previously available on the limited production BMW M4 GTS and optional on Audi's TT RS.

With regard to powertrains, it's surprising that there are no plans to make a fully electric A8. With instant torque and completely silent operation, an electric drivetrain would be an ideal fit for the refinement and low NVH that customers expect from the car. Nevertheless, it's applaudable that every powertrain is at least a mild hybrid. This is a step in the right direction.

Audi claims that the new A8 is also the first to offer autonomous driving where the driver does not have to pay attention, if the vehicle is travelling below 60 km/h on highways that are divided by a physical barrier. To do this, Audi incorporates an image processor from Mobileye, which was previously a supplier for Tesla's Autopilot before the relationship between the two companies broke down. Consequently, a comparison between Audi and Tesla's autonomous driving systems will serve as an interesting yardstick for Tesla's in-house Autopilot 2 self-driving system.

“We have decided to put a hold on our factory at the Apex site in North Las Vegas. We remain committed to the Apex site in Las Vegas for long-term vehicle manufacturing.

We at Faraday Future are significantly shifting our business strategy to position the company as the leader in user-ship personal mobility — a vehicle usage model that reimagines the way users access mobility. As a result of this shift in direction, we are in the final stages of confirming a new manufacturing facility that presents a faster path to start-of-production and aligns with future strategic options.”

Krause's statement is full of vague buzzwords such as 'user-ship personal mobility' with no substance behind them, and the firm's commitment to 'long-term vehicle manufacturing' is a nice euphemism for the minuscule chance that it will ever put a vehicle into mass production. The death knell is sounding for this vapourware peddling company.

It will launch five fully electric cars between 2019 and 2021, three of which will be Volvo models and two of which will be high performance electrified cars from Polestar, Volvo Cars’ performance car arm. Full details of these models will be announced at a later date.

These five cars will be supplemented by a range of petrol and diesel plug in hybrid and mild hybrid 48 volt options on all models, representing one of the broadest electrified car offerings of any car maker."

This is another significant development for Volvo, which has lately been having a renaissance under the ownership of Geely in forging its own, differentiated identity. To go from zero fully electric vehicles in 2018, to five by 2021, a space of only three years, will be a big achievement. More importantly, it is a substantive acknowledgment by a 'traditional', mainstream automotive manufacturer that the writing is on the wall for the internal combustion engine.

It's understandable that a mainstream manufacturer such as Volvo may not desire to leave existing customers (that live in areas with poor electric vehicle charging support) to hang out to dry by immediately ceasing support and development of combustion engined vehicles. But what is more important to understand is that hybrid vehicles that marry an electric motor to a combustion engine are a mere transition point, and not the final solution to achieving sustainable transport.

The only pragmatic option for sustainable transport is a fully electric vehicle powered by electricity from a renewable energy source. The sooner the automotive industry realises this, and follows Tesla's lead in independently building the requisite infrastructure, or forms a partnership with government to do so, the better. At this early stage, however, it's applaudable that Volvo has looked to the future and boldly taken a bet on a powertrain that currently only makes up a minuscule, albeit growing, share of the global automotive market.

Above: From left to right, the Volvo S90, V90, XC60 and XC90 T8 plug-in hybrid range. These vehicles represent Volvo's current range of only partial electric vehicles.

"In the future, Polestar will offer Polestar branded cars that will no longer carry a Volvo logo, as well as optimisation packages for Volvo’s range of cars under the Polestar Engineered brand.

Polestar will enjoy specific technological and engineering synergies with Volvo Cars and benefit from significant economies of scale as a result of its connection to Volvo. These synergies will allow it to design, develop and build world beating electrified high performance cars."

Above: The new Polestar logo.

Whilst it's unclear as to whether the models sold under the Polestar brand will be derivatives of existing Volvos or new, independently developed models, this is a positive step for the marque. Newly launched Volvos such as the XC90, S90, V90 and XC60 are evidence of a renaissance for the brand, which has developed a 'differentiated premium' image through a focus on honest design, advanced safety features, autonomous driving and electrification. Through its T8 powertrain, Volvo remains the only brand where the most powerful, top of the range Volvo currently available is a plug-in hybrid. Separating Polestar to focus on performance electric vehicles creates further differentiation from the mainstream 'big three' German trio of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi, and is a relatively unique proposition that is perhaps matched only by Tesla.

These are exciting times for the automotive industry, and with manufacturers being bold enough to explore new avenues such as autonomous driving and electric vehicles, the potential for innovation and change in the industry is greater than ever before.

The interior of the new Volkswagen Polo is perhaps the clearest example yet of the importance that consumers place on in-car technology in this class of vehicle. With the instrument cluster and infotainment display located on a single horizontal plane angled towards the driver, the interior architecture places a clear emphasis on in-car technology whilst also maintaining the parameters of the integrated 'T' design philosophy with a focus on the horizontal axis.

Importantly, the new Polo also marks the debut of the 2nd generation of Volkswagen's Active Info Display. The fact that this technology appears first on the Polo rather than an Audi, or the flagship VW Arteon (which itself was only revealed in March) is another example of how technology is being democratised. Rather than the traditional practice of new technologies necessarily appearing on a manufacturer's most expensive car (or being developed specifically for it) before filtering down to cheaper models, they are increasingly included whenever they are ready for production.

With regard to exterior design, the new Polo is an evolution from its predecessor, with certain traits also borrowed from stablemates such as the aforementioned Arteon.

Left: Volkswagen Arteon. Right: Volkswagen Polo.

It's clear from the above images that the Polo features the same upper bonnet 'lip' and and radiator grille that merges almost seamlessly into the LED daytime running lamps as the Arteon.

Left: 2010 Volkswagen Polo. Right: 2018 Volkswagen Polo

Stance-wise, the new Polo's MQB platform enables the vehicle to have a markedly 'flatter' and wider appearance than its predecessor. The character lines running along the side profile and merging through the rear LEDs with the crease along the tailgate further accentuates the length and width of the car, creating a more 'hunkered down', sporty appearance.